What a house cleaning estimate is for
House cleaning customers want to know three things before they let you in: what is cleaned, how often, and what it costs per visit. An estimate that separates the first deep clean from the recurring price, and lists add-ons like ovens and fridges, answers all three. It also sets the rules for cancellations and access before the first visit.
What to put on a house cleaning estimate
- Home size: bedrooms, bathrooms and square footage.
- What a standard visit covers, room by room.
- The first deep clean, priced separately.
- Add-ons with their own prices.
- Frequency and the per-visit price.
- Access, pets and the cancellation policy.
A worked example
A 2,000 sq ft, three-bedroom house with two baths and a dog. The family wants every other week after a first deep clean. The standard clean carries the typical price from our house cleaning calculator.
| Line | Qty | Unit | Price | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First visit deep clean | 1 | each | Your price | |
| Standard clean, 2,000 sq ft * | 1 | each | $233.00 | $233.00 |
| Inside oven, first visit | 1 | each | Your price | |
| Pet hair surcharge | 1 | each | Your price |
The standard clean is the recurring price; the deep clean is one time. Make that plain in the notes, or the first invoice will look like a mistake.
* Typical price from our free house cleaning cost calculator, which lists its sources. Your own costs and market come first.
Line items house cleaners use
| Line item | Unit | How to write it |
|---|---|---|
| Standard clean | each | Kitchen, baths, dusting, floors; by home size. |
| Deep clean | each | Baseboards, inside appliances on request, detailed scrubbing; usually the first visit. |
| Move-in or move-out clean | each | Empty home, inside cabinets and appliances. |
| Inside oven | each | Add-on. |
| Inside refrigerator | each | Add-on; customer empties it first. |
| Interior windows | each | Per window, inside only. |
| Laundry, wash and fold | load | Per load. |
| Change bed linens | each | Per bed. |
| Baseboards and blinds detail | room | Often part of a deep clean. |
| Post-construction cleanup | hour | Fine dust takes repeated passes; price by the hour. |
| Pet hair surcharge | each | Homes with heavy shedding. |
| Extra hours | hour | Time beyond the agreed visit. |
Terms and deposit language for house cleaning
- Deposit. Recurring cleans usually need no deposit, with a card on file. One-time deep cleans and move-outs may take a booking deposit to hold the date.
- Payment. Charged after each visit to the card on file, or paid at the visit. Recurring clients may be billed weekly or monthly.
- Warranty. If something was missed, the customer tells you within a day or so and you come back to fix that area at no charge. Say the window.
- Late cancellations or a locked-out visit may be charged; say the notice you need.
- Cleaners do not move heavy furniture, climb high ladders or handle biohazards unless agreed.
- Customer secures valuables and tells you about fragile items and pets.
How to fill it in
- Put in your business details once; this browser keeps them for every template.
- Fill in the customer and the job.
- Change the line items to fit this job and add your prices.
- Set tax, the deposit and the good-until date.
- Print to PDF, download Word or CSV, or send it from Koira.
Free tools for house cleaning
- House cleaning cost calculator
- Cleaning business name generator
- Carpet cleaning cost calculator
- Labor rate calculator
The same estimate for other trades: appliance repair, auto detailing, carpet cleaning, chimney, commercial cleaning, concrete, drywall, electrical, fence, flooring, garage door, general contractor, gutter, handyman, hvac, irrigation, junk removal, landscaping, lawn care, locksmith, moving, painting, pest control, plumbing, pool service, pressure washing, remodeling, roofing, septic, snow removal, solar, tree service, waterproofing, window cleaning.
More for house cleaners: how house cleaners run on Koira.